BC LOOKING FOR ANOTHER HAIL MARY: TOUTS JESUITS AND JOCKS

To counter "bad publicity" it has experienced in recent
years, the Boston College (BC) athletic department has hired
a PR firm for the first time "to stake its claim by touting
its rich athletic and religious traditions," according to
Gregg Krupa of the BOSTON GLOBE. In August, BC "launched an
extensive advertising strike" covering TV, radio, newspapers
and the local transportation authority. Susan Mosher, BC's
Assistant AD for Internal Affairs, put the campaign in "the
low six figures." The campaign, designed by Hill Holliday
Connors Cosmopulos, features men's football, basketball and
hockey and women's basketball, "but is intended to improve
the image of the whole athletics department." In one TV
spot, which features Doug Flutie's famous '84 last-second
touchdown pass against the Univ. of Miami, a voice-over
says, "We don't just recite the Hail Mary. We demonstrate
it." BC officials "hope to buff the BC brand" by "playing
off the school's Jesuit grounding against the dynamic visual
backdrop of successful athletic endeavor." Mosher: "Selling
tickets is important, but we see this as an image campaign."
Previous marketing efforts by BC had "consisted largely of
direct-mail solicitations to alumni" (BOSTON GLOBE, 9/23).
GOING BOWLING: In Ft. Worth, Wendell Barnhouse reports
that the Cotton Bowl "is expected to announce a deal" with
the SEC today which would put an SEC team against a host Big
12 team beginning this season (STAR-TELEGRAM, 9/24).